Do not get me wrong, I understand the purpose behind the copious "love your body" articles, videos and books, but at the same time they almost utterly disgust me. Since when did the body represent nothing more than a weight number, or vision of skin, muscle or bone? Although I strongly believe in leading a life of healthy choices and taking care of the one body we have been given, I also believe it is important to take a step back and take a look at our bodies in a bigger picture.
To me, the body is a doctor. I am beyond grateful for the miraculous tasks my body can endeavor. It is way too easy for us to take our bodies for granted and not take a second to realize every little thing our body does for us. We don’t have to remind ourselves to breathe, in order to make sure our bodies are replenished with oxygen. We don’t have to remind ourselves to blink in order to see correctly. We don’t have to remind our heart to pump blood throughout our bodies in order to keep us alive. Instead, the body does these things, and so much more, without our minds giving any attention or energy to it. On a larger scale, our bodies naturally patch up our bloody knees when we fall off our bikes and provide us with natural heating and cooling systems, through goosebumps and sweat. To me, the body isn’t a weight or a misfit body shape, but rather a doctor that helps us overcome every minor scratch to defeating deathly diseases such as cancer.
To me, the body is a machine. A machine can be defined as an apparatus that uses or applies mechanical power, having several parts, each with a definite function and together performing a particular task. I believe this definition is extremely fitting to the word "body." Simple actions such as walking, balancing, and pushing are actually not so simple of activities. The world’s highest vertical jump ever recorded was 60 inches -- that’s five feet high! Weightlifters can bench press over 600 pounds; national track athletes can run 400 meters in under 45 seconds, and gymnasts can propel enough power to rotate their bodies multiple times in the air before landing in perfect balance on a four-inch wide beam.
To me, my body is a computer. With millions of neurons in the brain constantly at work, our brains relay information faster than any man-made machine will ever have the potential to do. Our memories are also phenomenal as they can recall old memories that had happened five, twenty, and even sixty years prior to the retrieving date. Most other living beings do not have the capability to remember anything for more than a day, yet our bodies can retrieve information after years. Thanks to our inborn computer systems, our learning potential is unlimited and to me, that is amazing and more important than the ‘ugly’ birthmark on my body or the acne on my face.
To me, the body works miracles. The body can look death in the face and defeat it whether it is a deathly disease, fatal car crash or attempted suicide. The body allows us to function on a daily basis in order to do the things we enjoy including sleeping, eating, running, hugging, painting, talking, etc. The female body has the potential to reproduce after carrying the developing being after nine months. Our bodies can run over 20 miles if we have the desire to train it to, withstand diving 130 feet underwater, and adapt to extreme measures -- such as an organ transplant.
The body is not a measure of how beautiful you are or not, nor a determining factor of whether you should wear a one-piece or two-piece to the swimming pool. Our bodies provide for us in miraculous ways on a daily basis, therefore, I think it is important to look past our flaws and weight, and find gratitude and amazement in the neat endeavors our bodies have the potential to fulfill.
